The present invention relates to a supplementary wort removal device for the removal of wort in lauter tuns, consisting of at least one hollow member with screen walls arranged vertically movable over the screen and/or perforated floor of the lauter tun and means for removal of the wort from the hollow member.
In the process of the production of beer, following the cooking process the mash is pumped into a lauter tun, which is provided with a screen and/or perforated floor, in order to separate the solid components from the liquid. During the refining, a layer of draff is deposited on the screen and/or perforated floor, which functions as a filter layer for the wort being discharged through the perforated floor. In order to increase the filtering effect of these devices, "vertical refining" has already been introduced into the process (see Brauereikatechismus by Dworsky-Lense, 7th edition, 1940, Sec. 65 page 129). With this system an auxiliary wort removal device in the form of a hollow member is provided with screen walls, which can be moved vertically by a hoist device suspended on the cover of the lauter tun by means of cables. Before pumping in the mash, this wort removal hollow member is moved away such a distance that it comes to engage in the draff layer which is being formed. The removal of the wort from this hollow member then occurs through a central pipe, which can be slid on a rigid valve-controlled wort removal flow line. This type of auxiliary wort removal thus requires a corresponding extensive structural outlay and further limits the flexibility of the wort removal system.
German Pat. Nos. 1,080,951 and 2,035,955 disclose other known auxiliary wort removal devices constructed so as to be attached tightly to or incorporated into the lauter tun, which nonetheless also require extra discharge pipes and check valves and also are found in the layer of draff not only during the process of obtaining the head of the wort, but also during the washing out of the grains in the draff layer with water, which can lead to a decrease of the yield. Furthermore, these devices lack the desired flexibility as a result of the tight attachment or incorporation.